


Always There For You

by TheFluffyPrince



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, minor blood, slight language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-20
Updated: 2013-11-20
Packaged: 2018-01-02 04:12:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1052384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFluffyPrince/pseuds/TheFluffyPrince
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sycamore and Lysandre's relationship reached back to the time when they were teenagers. Ever since that time on the playground, the two of them had been close ever since.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always There For You

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I am shipping Lysandre and Sycamore way too hard, both as a broship and romantically. So, I decided to go ahead and write this.
> 
> Based off of a post that I made on my tumblr about how their relationship went throughout the years.
> 
> Pairing: Lysandre/Sycamore
> 
> Warning: Fluff, angst, spoilers to X and Y, mention of blood, slight language
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon

_13 years_

Sycamore stared at the red-haired boy sitting on the swing by himself, a deep frown on his face. It could probably be mistaken as a scowl rather than a frown by other people, but Sycamore liked to think that he understood the boy better than others. Sure, they didn't know each other well, aside from being peers in the same class. They weren't friends, or even people who sometimes talked to each other. They were just classmates. But Sycamore watched the other male enough that he considered the fact that they would be good friends. The only thing that stood in the middle of that was the fact that the redhead didn't tend to make any friends.

Sycamore wanted to change that.

The boy's name was Lysandre, and he was really smart. He always got 'A's on everything and seemed to know everything about everything. The only bad thing about him though (although Sycamore wouldn't consider it a bad thing at all) was that he tended to be very negative towards the other kids. And because of that, he was often isolated and bullied. People called him mean names and pushed him around. And every time, Lysandre only seemed to get angrier and angrier. He never fought back, choosing to just dust himself off and walk off to some place quiet. He'd always be muttering something, but it was so quiet that Sycamore could never understand it. But it really worried him.

That was why Sycamore had decided that he was going to befriend Lysandre and make them best friends. And maybe then, he wouldn't be so angry all the time. Lysandre looked much better when he was smiling, even though he didn't do it much.

Gripping tighter onto the bag in his hands, Sycamore slowly began walking towards the other boy. The leaves underneath his feet crunched with each step, but the boy on the swings didn't look up. He didn't look up until Sycamore had stopped right in front of him, his trembling form about five seconds from falling over in nervousness.

The redhead ceased moving back and forth on the swing before he looked at Sycamore. For a few moments he stared at the black-haired boy before his eyes moved down to the bag. His frown deepened and he lifted his gaze back up at the other boy. The hands that were holding onto the chains of the swings tightened a bit. "What do you want?" he asked, voice cracking a bit and defenses rising.

Sycamore watched as a wince came across the boy's face and his eyes moved away. If he remembered right, that had been the topic that the bullies had laughed about that day. Apparently, the redhead was going through puberty and that caused his voice to crack at random times. That, coupled with the redhead's crazy hairstyle, only added fuel to the bullies fire.

So caught up in his thoughts, Sycamore didn't realized that the boy was increasingly becoming angry with him before he finally snapped out. "What do you  _want!?_ "

Jumping at the loud shout, Sycamore accidentally dropped the bag in his hands, watching in horror as it fell by the boy's foot. His head snapped up to see the boy's expression, which was guarded heavily and pulled tight. However, there was a curious gleam in his eyes as he looked at the bag. It was a clear bag, so the contents inside were easy to spot. And even though Sycamore could easily reach down and pick up the bag, he just couldn't move from his spot.

To anyone else, it was nothing particularly special. It was just a woven bracelet, red and blue yarn intermixed (blue was his favorite color, and he pretty much assumed that red was Lysandre's). And while it looked harmless enough, the meaning behind it was no laughing matter to Sycamore.

Truthfully, Sycamore had been watching the redhead for a while now. Ever since the boy had helped him out on the playground when some kids were picking on him for his interest in Pokemon evolution and the myth with Mega Evolution. Most kids tended to make fun of him because of that, especially since he stammered quite a bit and had a bit of a high voice when he talked about it. But the mysterious redhead didn't seem to care about that.

Sure, they never really talked after that moment, but Sycamore always found himself staring at the boy whenever he wasn't looking. He knew right from that moment on that he wanted to be his friend.

So, he had made the bracelet in hopes that the boy would accept his offer. His mom had always told him giving someone a gift, especially something that someone could wear, had a strong meaning. And although that had been told to him back when he was around 6 years old, the thought had never truly left his head. And his mother had always been right when it came to things like that. So, Sycamore wanted to show that strong meaning to the other boy and he thought that a friendship bracelet.

So, he watched with hesitant eyes as Lysandre picked up the bag, looking at the bracelet inside. He then blinked at him before narrowing his eyes. "...What is this?"

Jumping a bit at the question, Sycamore wrung his hands together, biting his bottom lip nervously. "A-...a friendship...b-bracelet...f-for you...," he trailed off hesitantly.

Lysandre's attention was grabbed and he stared at Sycamore incredulously, all while holding the bag. "For  _me_?!"

Flushing a bit, Sycamore just nodded his head in embarrassment before ducking his head down. He waited to hear the ridicule from the boy, teasing him for making such a girly bracelet, and thinking to give it to him. Or maybe he would just throw it to the ground before he started muttering words of disgust at him. It wouldn't be the first time he had dealt with that.

But instead of that, all Sycamore heard was silence. He cracked his eyes open slightly, seeing that the boy was still looking at him. But instead of anger, or even irritation, there was a look of shock on his face. Like he had been expecting something bad to happen instead of Sycamore.

"...Why? Why give me this?" the boy asked incredulously. "We don't even know each other-"

"I know!" Sycamore shouted, wincing a bit as he suddenly cut the other boy off. "But I want to get to know you! You see like a really nice guy and...and I want to be your friend!" There was probably no need for him to keep on shouting, but he just couldn't help it. He was too nervous.

The other boy fell silent for a few moments before looking back down at the bracelet. There was still a small part of Sycamore that thought that Lysandre was going to dismiss his gift and tell him to get lost. But then, the corner of his mouth twitched a bit before it gave way to a small smile. "...You're sure you want to give it to me?" he asked softly.

"Yes! I'm sure!"

"...There's no need for you to yell."

"I-! ...I'm sorry," Sycamore replied meekly, smiling shyly when he saw the other boy opening the bag and pulling out the bracelet.

Lysanre untied the bracelet and stared at it for a moment before looking at Sycamore expectantly. He held it out to Sycamore to tied around his wrist. He watched with curious eyes as Sycamore stumbled a bit with the bracelet, fingers shaking as he tied it.

"You know, you're only supposed to give these to people you see as really close friends," Lysandre remarked, a bit of a bitter smile on his face.

Sycamore froze for a moment, looking up at the boy before he gave a bright smile. "Well, then that means that we're going to be really close friends then, huh?"

* * *

_18 years_

The shrill call of a phone sounded through the entire room, waking Lysandre up from his pleasant dream. A snort left his mouth and he sat up in his bed quickly. His heart was racing and he placed a hand over his chest to try and calm it down. Gazing around the dark room for a moment, Lysandre noted that there didn't seem to be anything out of order before he slumped back against the bed. The redhead couldn't exactly remember what he had been dreaming about, but a pleasant buzz was vibrating through his entire body, making him lethargic and not willing to get up at all. Groaning softly, Lysandre brought a hand up to his face, rubbing his eyes and yawning. The warmth of the bed started to lull him back into a peaceful sleep and he burrowed himself a bit deeper into his bed. He couldn't quite remember what is was that had woken him up, but since nothing had seemed out of order-

Right as he thought that, the sound of his phone rang through the room again.

Lysandre groaned again and winced at the loudness of the ring. Glancing over at his clock, the redhead covered his eyes with the palms of his hands. Three in the morning. Who in the world would even think to call him at such a ridiculous time? There weren't many people, since Lysandre didn't make a habit of giving out his phone number to anyone. And out of those particular people, not many would even think to dare to call him at this time of night.

There was only one person who would actually dare to call him at such a time without worrying about the consequences. And as angry as Lysandre wanted to be at the person in question, he couldn't find it in himself to be mad. Irritated, yes. But not angry.

So, he just reached over and grabbed onto his phone before pressing the 'call' button, placing it to his ear. "Hmmm?" he groaned out sleepily.

" _Lysandre? Are you up?"_ Sycamore's voice came from the other end of the line.

Sighing roughly, Lysandre rubbed his eyes and turned so that he was now laying on his stomach, resting on his elbows. A soft yawn left his mouth and he clenched his eyes shut for a moment. "I am now."

" _Oh gosh, did I wake you up again!? I didn't mean to! I just...I was just doing some more research and I found out some new information and I thought that I should share it with you! You were the first person on my mind to share it with, since you always seem interested in my research!"_  Sycamore confessed almost breathlessly.

The excited tone of Sycamore's voice brought a smile to Lysandre's face. He could almost see his friend. Eyes twinkling in happiness and glee as he jumped around, showing off his new findings to anyone he could find. The other boy was too much for him sometimes. It often made him wonder how in the world they could be the same age. His friend was such a child at heart. But nonetheless, it amused him.

"It's fine, Augustine. What did you find?" Lysandre asked, laying his head down on the pillow. He knew that once Sycamore went off on a tangent about his research, he would be talking for a couple of hours. Not that Lysandre minded, to be honest.

" _Oh! Well, there are a few things that I think you might find interesting. Nothing quite as big as what I uncovered, but still. We've uncovered another factor in Mega Evolution and what may actually cause it. It's not enough to really make a basis on right now, but I feel as though we've just taken several steps forward! It seems as though there are several Pokemon throughout the regions that can Mega Evolve, although we aren't quite sure why they are able, and not others...,"_  Sycamore trailed off.

Lysandre's interest was peaked a bit when Sycamore mentioned Mega Evolution. It was no surprise to either of them that the redhead was extremely interested in that particular chain of evolution. However, all that was currently available were myths and old tales. No one had a lot of information on the subject. And those that did were tight-lipped about sharing that information with the world. But Sycamore wouldn't accept that one bit. He had promised the redhead that he would find out all that he could about Mega Evolution for him. Something about helping out a friend and all that. It brought a feeling of warmth to Lysandre's heart.

However, Lysandre knew that that couldn't have been the only reason that Sycamore called him. He sounded much too excited about that little bit of information. Something big must have happened. So, the redhead tuned back into the conversation and luckily, it seemed as though Sycamore was moving onto the true purpose behind his call.

_"And there has been more information about the Fairy types that we've uncovered as well, although I don't have all of it right next to me to tell you. But none of that is what I really wanted to call you about. I called because I wanted to tell you that I found out that Eevee has another evolution beyond those that are already discovered!"_

Another exclamation from Sycamore nearly caught Lysandre off guard, just by how loud it was, and he nearly chuckled to himself. It seemed as though his friend was really excited about his new discovery. Although, he supposed that he would be to, if he had found out about a new evolution.

" _...and it's just so cute Lysandre! It's so pink and adorable! It really seems to like me now! I think it's a fairy type. I know I don't really know a lot about it's moves, but something in my gut just tells me that it's a fairy type!"_

"How can you tell what type it is if you don't know what moves it knows?" Lysandre asked with a chuckle in his voice.

" _Because I just know, Lysandre!"_  Sycamore whined on the other end.  _"If you saw how cute this Pokemon is, you'd think the same thing!"_

"Just because it's cute doesn't mean it's a fairy type." the redhead pointed out.

" _Lysandre! Yes it does! Which one of us is the researcher, hmmm?"_  Lysandre could practically picture Sycamore sticking out his tongue at him right at that moment. It made him nearly want to roll his eyes.

Glancing over towards the clock, Lysandre's eyebrows nearly flew up when he realized that they had been talking on and off for about an hour, going on two. Blinking for a moment, Lysandre just laid in his bed, letting Sycamore's voice flow over him until he heard his name being called. Shaking himself out of his daze, Lysandre cleared his throat. "Hmm? What was that?"

Sycamore sighed on the other end before repeating his question.  _"I asked if you were alright. You've been quiet for a while."_

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine. But don't you think that you should be heading off to bed right now?" Lysandre asked with a gentle smile.

" _Of course not! There's still so much to do, Lysandre! I have to tell other researchers and professors about my discovery! And I have to document everything! Not to mention, I have to observe this Pokemon to see what kinds of moves it knows, and what abilities is has-! I-I can't just go to bed now!"_ Sycamore shouted frantically, moving around to try and prove his point.

Hearing his friend shuffle around through the phone, Lysandre just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew it wouldn't have been that simple to get Sycamore to head to bed. Sure, he had hoped, but his common sense knew better. He supposed that that meant that he would have to stay up until his friend decided to go to bed. And somehow, he had the feeling that he wouldn't be getting any sleep for the next few hours. Well, it was a good thing that he didn't have to go in to his job until noon. Hopefully, Sycamore would just tire himself out long before then.

* * *

_23 years_

"These people are just so  _stupid!_  It astounds me sometimes how idiotic and moronic humans can be sometimes!" Lysandre snarled as he threw his backpack across the room, sitting himself on the couch with a thud.

Sycamore glanced up from his paperwork, blinking a few moments before sighing softly. It looked as though Lysandre was in one of those moods again.

"What happened?" Sycamore asked before pushing away his paperwork and taking off his glasses.

Lysandre glanced up at Sycamore and gave a loud sigh before bringing his hands to his face. "Ugh, it irritates me just to think about it. You are aware that I was to be the representative for Kalos in the Inter-Region Conference?" the redhead asked.

"Mhmm. You were really excited about it," Sycamore stated, taking a seat next to his friend.

A bitter laugh left Lysandre's mouth and he brought his hands down. A scowl was present and his face was slowly becoming red in anger. "Yes, I was ecstatic about the opportunity. Finally, I would have the chance to let my voice and opinions be heard. My chance at changing the world would be one step closer," Lysandre said, a gleam in his eyes. However, that gleam quickly left, replaced by a look of disdain. "However, it seemed as though the committee had had second thoughts about me representing our team. Guess what those fools did, behind my back?"

A bad feeling settled in the pit of Sycamore's stomach and he let out a worried noise. "T-they didn't-"

"Oh yes, Sycamore.  _They did._ Those fucking  _idiots_  deemed me unworthy of representing and gave the position to another person. And even worse,  _they didn't think to tell me until I had reached the office._  I was humiliated in front of the entire building and made to look like some sort of fool!" Lysandre roared, standing up and gritting his teeth.

Looking up at his friend in worry, Sycamore swallowed thickly. Lysandre had been looking forward to the conference for months ever since he had been named the representative. He had walked around and talked about all the issues he would be able to discuss, and all the people that he would be able to meet. It was one of the few times that Sycamore could actually say that Lysandre looked...absolutely happy.

But now, that happiness was long gone and replaced by the angry redhead that he was more acquainted with.

"Some days, I wish, I just  _wish_ , that I could rid this world of ignorant idiots like that and have this world just to ourselves!" Lysandre growled out under his breath.

Sycamore started a bit and he stared at Lysandre for a moment, eyes slightly wide. He had...he had never heard Lysandre talk like this before. Sure, he had been aware that his friend thought that most humans didn't deserve living on the Earth, but he had never...outright said it. It brought a shiver down his spine.

"...-more. Sycamore!"

Jumping a bit, Sycamore snapped his head up towards his friend. Although there was a worried look on his friend's face, there was still a mysterious gleam in his eyes that put Sycamore on edge. "W-what?"

"Are you alright? You blanked out for a moment," the redhead stated, moving back to sit next to his friend. A hand rested on his shoulder, gripping it slightly.

Letting out a harsh breath, Sycamore hesitantly nodded his head. "Y-yeah. I'm fine. I'm...fine..."

* * *

_27 years_

"Lysandre! I-I think we've found it! I think we've finally uncovered what triggers Mega Evolution!" Sycamore shouted in happiness, running into the house and jumping into his friend's arms.

Lysandre's eyes grew wide at the shout before he fell to the ground with Sycamore in his arms. "Really?!"

"Yeah! Oh my gosh, I have to tell you everything! So apparently, there are two special kinds of stones that need to be used in order for Mega Evolution to happen. A strong bond between the Pokemon and the trainer has to exist as well. I'm not quite sure about the exact number of Pokemon that have a Mega Evolution. But I do know that your Gyarados has a Mega Evolution form!" Sycamore could barely sit still, way too excited at the moment. He had been researching this topic on and off for years, both for his friend and for himself. And now, they were finally coming to a breakthrough.

Lysandre, in the meantime, was extremely pleased. He had had his doubts about whether Sycamore would be able to figure out anything on Mega Evolution. But, his friend had come through for him, yet again.

Grabbing onto his friend's hand, Lysandre gave Sycamore a bright smile. "I'm glad to hear that. That's extremely good news."

A look of pride came across Sycamore's face and he gripped Lysandre's hand back before jumping a bit and wiggling out of his friend's grip. Moving to his bag, Sycamore pulled out a ring. It looked pretty extravagant, to be honest. Nothing that Sycamore would carry around for himself. As over-the-top as his friend was, Sycamore was much more...subdued when it came to what he wore. Looking back towards Lysandre, a faint blush came to the researcher's face and he reached down to grab onto the redhead's hand before looking into his eyes.

Lysandre watched with wide eyes as Sycamore slipped the ring onto his finger. Blinking for a moment, he gazed at the stone that was in the center of the ring, eyebrows furrowing. "...You...are not...proposing to me, I would assume? Because while I am flattered, I would prefer if you took me out to dinner first," the redhead stated with a faint smirk on his face.

Flushing brightly in embarrassment, Sycamore quickly shook his head and smacked his friend on his chest. "No! This...this ring...it has one of the stones that can assist with Mega Evolution," Sycamore confessed softly, ducking his head down.

At that, Lysandre quickly sobered up and he nearly gasped out loud. He...had not been expecting that. Well, he wasn't quite sure what he was expecting when Sycamore had pulled out that ring and gave it to him. But this sure wasn't it.

"You...why are you giving it to me, Augustine?" Lysandre asked breathlessly.

For a moment, Sycamore's head remained ducked down in embarrassment. It took Lysandre slipping his finger underneath his chin and forcing his head up for the researcher to look at him. There was a vulnerable atmosphere surrounding his friend that normally didn't appear very often. It made him smile gently before bringing his hands up to cup the other man's face, pulling it close to his.

Sycamore's breath hitched as their foreheads pressed against each other and he stared at his friend his watery eyes, breath ragged. Lysandre just stared back, thankful smile on his face. He knew that his friend was starting to get emotional, too emotional to talk or explain his actions. So, he wouldn't push him right now. He would be uncovering his answer later on, but for right now, he could let the matter rest.

* * *

_30 years_

Everything hurt. It was like his entire body had been put through a shredder and spat back out. He wanted nothing more than to scream out in pain, but his throat was throbbing in pain and he wasn't completely sure if he would be able to even talk. He could taste blood on his tongue and he had no idea if that was a really bad thing or not.

Cracking his eyes open, Lysandre couldn't stop himself from coughing up the dust sitting in his lungs, causing his body to throb harshly in pain. He tried to move his arms to hold onto his chest, except that he couldn't move them at all. Actually, he couldn't move his entire right side. Everything felt numb and painful and he just wanted to be put out of his misery.

Wasn't it enough for him to be utterly humiliated by the likes of some group of kids?

The faint sound of footsteps came towards him and Lysandre shut his eyes again before coughing. The blood pooling in his mouth splattered out, staining his chin and neck. He felt himself starting to breath harshly and his heart was pounding rapidly in his chest.

A shadow was cast over his body and Lysandre glanced up, finding himself looking right up at Sycamore. His heart twisted at the sight of his friend (did he even deserve to call him a friend at this point?) looking down at him. The other male's face was mysteriously blank for the first time that Lysandre had ever seen it, and it set him on edge. He prided himself with always being able to tell what his friend was feeling, and yet, now he was unsure what was going on in Sycamore's head.

As Sycamore knelt down next to his head, Lysandre coughed again and shut his eyes. He couldn't stand to look at his friend's face right now. It made his chest hurt to the point where it was hard for him to breathe.

When a hand pressed against his bloodied cheek, Lysandre flinched at the touch and a sob left his mouth before he could stop it. Eyes snapping open, the redhead was surprised to find that tears were starting to well up in his eyes. Sucking in a harsh breath, he stared up right into Sycamore's eyes.

" _...Lysandre..."_

That was the final breaking point for him and Lysandre could no longer hold back the flood of emotions that were raging through his body. His entire body shook with the intensity of his sobs and he found that he just couldn't close his eyes, no matter how much he wanted to. He couldn't look away from those blue eyes, the eyes of his friend whom he had turned around and betrayed without a second thought.

He had lied repeatedly time and time again, right to his friend's face. He had promised that they would be together forever, that their friendship would take them far. And instead of honoring that, Lysandre had taken the first opportunity to achieve his dream, leaving his friend alone to fend for himself.

He couldn't see how Augustine could even stand to look at him anymore.

Still crying, Lysandre shivered as he felt Sycamore's hands cup his face, tilting his head up slightly. His wet eyes looked at Sycamore and he found himself holding his breath, not quite sure what to expect from the other man.

What he didn't expect were tears falling down on his cheeks.

* * *

_30 years_

Sycamore wasn't quite sure what to expect upon going to Geosenge Town. When he had first heard Lysandre's announcement on the Holo Caster, he had felt as though his entire heart had stopped. It had been the last thing that he had been expecting to happen that day. Since he wasn't able to keep in touch with Calem or Serena, he hadn't a thing about Team Flare's plans other than the announcements that were broadcast every few days or so. He had never thought that...that Lysandre had allied himself with such a team though.

When Lysandre announced that he would actually be going through with his plan, there was only one place that stuck out to the professor. He remembered an old tale about a man who wandered the Earth for 3,000 years searching for his Floette. He wasn't quite familiar with all of the details, but he did know that there were rumors of a secret weapon resting in Geosenge Town. And he was well aware of the fact that his friend constantly visited the town. He had assumed it had to deal with his research on Mega Evolution, and he supposed that in a way, that was true.

But he had no clue that Lysandre's plan had been so drastic, so crazy. So  _idiotic..._

Coming to a stop right at the outside of the pit in the center of the town, Sycamore glanced around for a moment. It was sunset and there didn't appear to be any people roaming around outside. Although, he supposed that was to be expected after all the events that had happened in the small town that day. Taking in a deep breath, he knelt down and jumped into the pit, stumbling as he fell to the bottom. All around, there was rubble, pillars, and large pieces of stone. There were also pieces of metal and large claws extending from the garbage, which Sycamore would wager was the ultimate weapon. If he weren't in the middle of searching for his friend, perhaps he would take the time to actually inspect the weapon. But alas, the condition of Lysandre was much more important at the moment.

Pushing around large boulders, Sycamore squinted his eyes to see if he could see his friend. However, there wasn't any movement at all. He would call out to see if the redhead would end up answering, but he didn't want to take the chance of attracting attention to himself. So, he pressed on, coming to a stop every few seconds to monitor the area and see if he had uncovered his friend.

When Sycamore finally spotted Lysandre underneath the large pieces of rubble, rocks completely covering his entire right side, it made the professor want to curse out loud. Why was his friend so  _stupid_?! Why did he have to go and risk his life – everyone's lives! - just for some childhood dream that he always muttered whenever he thought he was alone? Was his crazy dream really worth risking his health, his life even? Was there friendship not enough to pacify the redhead?

Although, in a way, Sycamore supposed that this entire situation was his fault as well. He had been more than aware of how Lysandre thought, and what he had been planning. He often walked in on him muttering about his plans and his hopes. There was even a time that he had found a detailed plan of Lysandre's ultimate dream and how he planned to carry it out. But he had hoped that deep down, perhaps his friend wouldn't actually go through with it. Perhaps their friendship was enough to hold back Lysandre's murderous rage. He had seen what Lysandre was like deep down, and he wasn't the power-crazed fiend that often made its appearance whenever someone or something set off his friend's temper.

Lysandre could be sweet, nice, lovely...he could be kind, angelic, caring...He wasn't all bad. In fact, Sycamore would say that he wasn't bad  _at all_. So he had hoped that maybe, Sycamore would help mellow him out. And perhaps the years would calm down the redhead's temper.

But that hadn't been the case, evidently.

Clenching his fists, Sycamore could already feel the back of his throat burning with emotion and his eyes watering. But he needed to hold it together for right now. At the moment, he needed to try and get Lysandre out from under the rubble before nightfall came. Or at least until the police came. Setting forth, Sycamore walked over to Lysandre until he was kneeling down right next to him. For a second or two, he wondered if perhaps he had been too late and his friend was already dead. But thankfully, he saw Lysandre's eyes open at that moment, staring right up at him. And although his eyes were glazed over in pain, there was still a sense of recognition shining in those grey eyes that he held a soft spot towards.

Reaching a hand down, Sycamore cupped Lysandre's cheek, sniffing softly and trying to hold back the urge to sob. However, all it took was one tear sliding down his face and landing on Lysandre's face before the rest of them followed. Clenching his eyes shut, Sycamore cursed his own emotional weakness, continuing to cry right in front of the redhead. Then again, he had always been more emotional than his friend.

_"Lysandre...w-why...,"_  he trailed off, sniffling loudly and opening his eyes again to look down at his friend. He knew that they didn't have a lot of time before someone would notice them, but he just had to know. He needed to know why...why Lysandre would do this. Why he would succumb to this option when there were other options available?

Lysandre stared up at him for a few seconds, face turned up in a grimace. Sycamore could see him trying to move, which only succeeded in making him grimace even more. Sycamore's hands moved down to Lysandre's shoulders at once, holding him in place so that he couldn't move around and hurt himself anymore than he had already had. But doing so caused a hiss to leave the redhead's mouth. His hands shot away in an instant, shooting out soft apologizes.

"S-...Syca...more...," Lysandre said hoarsely coughing roughly and spewing up dust from his mouth.

Nose turning up, Sycamore coughed himself and waved the dust away so that it wouldn't settle around them. Looking down at his friend, the professor reached down and grabbed one of his hands, curling their fingers around each other so that they were interlaced. "Lysandre?" He didn't want to force his friend to talk, but he just needed to know that he was alright.

A pained expression came to the redhead's face and he breathed in harshly, letting out another cough. "I-I-" he was suddenly cut off by another series of coughs, rocking his body to the point that Sycamore thought that he would end up hurting himself even more than he already was. But thankfully, his coughs calmed down, although soft wheezes were leaving his mouth every so often.

"Lysandre, calm down! Don't force yourself to talk!" Sycamore scolded as softly as he could, gripping his friend's hand tighter. Looking over towards the rocks covering his friend's body, Sycamore forced out a sigh. He would need to move them before he would be able to move his friend out of the pit. But he wasn't sure how much the rocks weighed or whether he would even be able to lift them by himself. Asking for help obviously wasn't an option, since Lysandre had exposed himself to the entire region as the leader of Team Flare.

Nothing seemed to be pointing in his friend's favor.

The back of Sycamore's throat started burning again and it was getting harder for him to hold back the urge to just break down and cry over his friend's body. Why couldn't things have been different? Why did Lysandre have to do all this? Why couldn't he had just held back and think about what he was doing before actually doing it?  _Why..._

So caught up in his distress, Sycamore never noticed the tears flowing down Lysandre's face. He didn't even notice the faint movement of Lysandre's mouth, silently asking for forgiveness from the professor. He didn't even notice the shredded pieces of red and blue yarn hanging off of Lysandre's right wrist.

All that he could notice was the darkness that was slowly working its way over them, and the red tint of blood staining Lysandre's torso that was slowly spreading underneath their bodies.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I ummm...I didn't plan on the ending being that depressing...
> 
> Oops? :'D


End file.
